Before I continue, I feel like I ought to explain the difference between someone who reads, and a reader. Someone who reads is a casual reader, they read as and when they want to and they don't become overly immersed in whatever they are reading. They could read a book one day and forget about it the next. Readers, on the other hand, are the ones you need to be careful with. Readers become so incredibly involved in the stories you are writing, it sometimes comes to a point when they cannot distinguish between a story and reality. The characters become their friends and family, and if something happens to them, like if something happened to their real family or friends, you can break them. I consider myself a reader, I also consider being a reader dangerous.
Now when you, the creators, write a book, you are effectively playing God. You decide the fate of the characters, thus deciding the fate of the readers. You have so much power. I beg you to use it wisely. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us squeal with adoration, make us feel what the characters feel because we crave it. Don't get me wrong, I love being a broken reader, but only in the right way. Don't break us then leave us, break us then heal us.
So, the purpose of this letter? I wish to ask you something. Do you think of your 'readers' before you publish anything? Do you think of how your work will make us feel? Whether we will smile, laugh, or sob in desperation? Does it matter to you or does the thought of you having so much power completely amuse you? I have always wondered this because it is the one thing that stops me from making the jump from being a reader to a storyteller. Playing god terrifies me. Does it terrify you?
Signing off till next time,
Nin :-) x
